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Divide rider: Jon Pettit

On June 10th, 78 riders will get on their mountain bikes and attempt to ride from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico by way of the continental divide. This 2,745 mile stroll through the mountains is referred to at the Tour Divide. I have been mildly obsessed with this route ever since I heard the epic tales of John Stamstad and his solo, self supported time trial of the entire route. His completetion the route in just over 18 days paved the way for what is possible on a mountain bike. Since it’s inception, the divide race has continued to grow. A full length documentary on the race has been making it’s way around the country this year and getting a lot more people excited about the event.

I am fortunate enough to know two guys right here in Phoenix attempting the race this year. John “JP” Pettit and Taylor “Tot” Lideen work at my local shop and were nice enough to sit down with me over a few beers and talk bike set up and strategy for their upcomming race. Over the past six months I have watched them experiment with all kinds of gear and I was curious to see how it all shook out. I also consulted our facebook community to see what questions they would want to ask somebody racing the Divide and this is what we got:

-Once we got over the formalities of the gear, we ordered another round and got into some of the questions from you guys.

DB: First and foremost, why would you want to do such a brutal ride?JP: A number of reasons, really. A few years ago my truck broke down in Durango, CO and I decided to ride home to Phoenix. From then on I was hooked on this type of riding. It’s just a good way to travel. Also, I have been in the desert for a few years now and it really isn’t my ideal place to ride. I’m really looking forward to getting up into the hills and riding through some trees. It may be brutal, but I am comfortable knowing that it is going to be uncomfortable.

DB: CERA, EPO, or HGH?JP: Whiskey, and probably about 5 pounds of Advil

DB: Are you worried about saddle sores and are you taking any special precautions?JP: No special precautions, I’m just taking some DZ Nuts chamois cream and some diaper rash cream.

DB: Are you bringing music and what would your number one playlist consist of?JP: I have been listening to this band out of Seattle a lot called The Head and the Heart, they have been doing it for me on the bike lately. But I will always fall back on some good old Hank Williams Jr. and Senior and Merle Haggard. I also have an AM/FM radio on there to help mix it up and hear local stations.

DB: One reader wants to know if you have altered your diet to get your body ready for all of the gas station food you are going to encounter along the route?JP: Absolutely! I have been bulking up on CircleK chili cheese dogs and trying to find food that doesn’t make me poop after five minutes. My alcohol and ice cream consumption has also increased over the past couple of weeks.

DB: You normally race marathon XC and other single day endurance events, how has your training changed to prpare for this event?JP: The Divide has been on my mind since Thanksgiving and I have still been competing in some 3-4hr marathon events this season. But my training has mostly been centered around saddle time. Doing intervals or going anaerobic just isn’t something I have taken into consideration. My focus was to be able to hold 12mph for 120-130 miles at a time.

DB: A reader wants to know that if you were in a pinch would you drink your own piss like that Bear guy from TV?JP: Sure. But I would put some Powerade Ion4 in it first.

DB: From what I understand, you and Taylor are going to try and ride the race together. As cute as that sounds don’t you think you will eventually settle into your own pace and seperate?JP: I want to ride with Taylor as long as he stays positive. We have discussed it at length and we don’t want to reach a situation where we bring each other down. I want to reach those decisive situations with him where we start riding in the morning and we are beat down and tired. The next real town is 90 miles away. Do we pedal straight to the Greyhound station and bail or do we get some ice cream and a cold beer and just push on through. My 8 years on a comercial fishing boat in Alaska have prepared me mentally for the solitude, we don’t know how he is going to react yet. He is very fit and ready to go, I think we will be able to feed off of each other and use it to our advantage.

DB: How do you feel your chances are for completing the ride and what are your goals?JP: Twenty days is my goal. Quitting is not an option, I don’t have enough money to fly home or even to catch a bus. For the past 6 months I have been training and working in the shop, and that’s it. This is a brief 3 week moment in my life and I’m not going to quit. I’m going to enjoy every minute of it. If I make it to Colorado feeling good, I know I will make it. That looks like it is going to be the hardest thing to do. If everybody that starts the race makes it to the CO border, I will give them my last paycheck!

The terrain isn’t the hardest part about this race, its the length that makes it epic. How long can you deal with the solitude? If everything goes well, I think top 5 is attainable for where I am at in my training. But being a rookie, I really have no idea. How do you peak for something this big that you have never done before? I would consider this a great success if Taylor and I cross that border in Antelope Wells in the top ten.

DB: Any last thoughts or thank you’s?JP: A huge thanks to the shop South Mountain Cycles! Mike Melly over at Hub Event Productions for all his help and support. A big thanks to Powerade who just came on board to support me with their new ION4 drink mix. They have been great to me and this stuff makes a pretty damn good mixer too! Anybody who is interested can check out my blog over at thejonnyp.com. I will try to post updates from along the route, but no promises.

Really, just a huge thanks to all those that have helped along the way, my awesome friends, and my amazing girlfriend. I’m riding this for all of them as well. Last thing is a huge shout out to our good friend Pat Carlson, get well soon buddy!

Tomorrow I will give you my interview with Taylor and see what the young kid has to say about his upcoming journey. I’m sure these guys would love to hear from you in the comments with any more questions about the ride.

24 thoughts on “Divide rider: Jon Pettit”

Killer! Best of luck to you guys. I hope it goes well. I really dig that combo of minimal bike touring combined with Mountain biking. I’m giving this one some thought…
I dig that band Head and the heart too. Kexp works it.
Do you know Danny Barnes? he may be up your alley too. Check this vid of with with DMB http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ6eV5IPCFw&feature=related

There’s snow in them thar hills, and she’s stayed wet and cloudy to-date. Might consider pushing back your start a few weeks or accept the potential for a most epic slog through the northern rockies.
The amazing thing about Great Divide MTB Race is you can race it starting on any day of the year, going in either direction; you just might not get Joe Polk broadcasting your phone-ins. The traditional start date with all the fan fare is going to make for some rough miles.

good luck dude, I can’t stop looking at that rigid fork though. While I can appreciate the weight savings and the simplicity, it seems that spending that much time on a full rigid would put the body though the grinder more so than this trip will otherwise.

Mud and snow. Mud and Snow. MUD AND SNOW until New Mexico. The central Rockies (aka Colorado) are still buried under the white stuff. Which, starting this week will be quickly turning to sticky brown stuff.

Hiya, I want to thank you for an interesting site about a subject I have had an interest in for some time now.I have been lurking and looking through the posts avidly so decided to express my thanks for providing me with some very good reading material. I look forward to more, and taking a more active part in the discussions here, whilst learning too!!